Happy New Year to All Our Loved Ones!!

I just had to put in this picture.

Sister Andersen, Mission President's wife, had this nativity sitting on her coffee table.

A mother of one of the missionaries made it for her.

It is beautiful, the ger on a wagon, I have seen at a muesum.

I did get me a Nativity, it was hand-carved by a man, here in Mongolia.

It even has 2-humped camels!

I just want to put in one comment Pres. Anderson gave at our Mission Conference.

He said that 1% of the Church membership in Mongolia are currently serving as full-time missionaries.

If 1% of the whole church membership was serving as missionaries right now, we would have 4-times the missionaries out!

The people in Mongolia are truly ready for the Gospel! We are blessed to be here!

These are a few of the kids at the Church.

Seminary is over, today is a holiday, they celebrate New Year's Eve more than New Year's Day.

They have a ping-pong table and the kids are always together and playing, several of them have their own paddles.

I think they find alot of friendship and have alot of fun being together.

Some of them walk quite a ways to come to Seminary, at 6:30 in the morning, and in the dark.

Because there was no school they had a Seminary Party.

They served mutton, rice, potato salad and cabbage salad, the salads are pretty good.

The mutton, we're still getting use to, but we are trying!

I brought a cake, they love their sweets.

When you go into a store, 1/3 is alcohol. 1/3 is bread and food. 1/3 is candy!

I'm not kidding there are shelves and shelves of sweets,

and their candy is good, from Russia and Germany.

There are several small, "mom and pop" stores all over, each neighborhood has some, but we have to walk about 15 minutes to get some American food, which is very little.

You can see the apartment building in the background, our is just to Dad's right, they all look the same. And the playground is out our kitchen window.

We are on the 3rd floor, we walk everywhere, about 10 minutes to the Church.

The weather we have described before, this picture says it all!

It was taken on our way home from Seminary this morning.

With the wind and our breath, we look like frosty-people!

Know that we love all of you!

We think of you often and are so grateful for you, we miss you, but we feel of your love and support!

One of the questions the Mission President ask us when he ask us to come to Choibalsan - "Would your family support you?"

We were so grateful to answer,"Yes!"

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND LOVE TO ONE AND ALL!

Baby Talk

Choibalsan, Mongolia

Choibalsan City Sign - "Hot" means City

We got home from Ulaanbaatar, this evening and I wanted to put some of these pictures into the blog, so I left Dad to unpack and do a load of laundry!

Our Mission Conference was really good.

We learned that Choibalsan is the Branch furtherest away from Mission Headquarters.

The Mission Pres. again said how thankful he was for all his "Countryside" couples, there are 5 of us, we are the Grandma's and Grandpa's to these members.

This picture was taken out of our apartment window.
Choibalsan has several ice skating rinks, they love to ice skate.
It was interesting to watch them build this rink, they carried buckets of water and just threw it out where they felt it was needed.
It is very uneaven, but they still skate and play hocky on it, and there is Mongolian music playing, which is nice, since we have no CD player to play anything.


This was parked out side of our apartment.
The best place to shop, and their idea of a mall is called a "Zaah" they have everything from meat to vegatables to used plumbing supplies. There are lots of small booths and vendors, and if you buy too much or something too big, you can hire a horse and cart to take you home!


They have playgrounds all over the city, each apartment complex has a playground.
You can see the kids playing all the time, even in winter.
This Ger and people are especially well taken care of.
It is located at a kindergarten, about 4 blocks from our apartment.
Isn't it so cute?

Merry Christmas from Mongolia!

We had a Missionary Conference in Ulaanbaatar at the Mission Office.

Some of the Elders dressed in Traditional Mongolian Deel's.

They suggested every one dress up, we will next year.

It has been fun to be in the city, to see friends from the MTC and meet some of the couples from the other parts of the country. We will leave to fly back to Choibalsan Monday afternoon.

This is some of the sisters with their traditional Mongolian clothing.

They are a beautiful people and so quiet and friendly.

They also love having their pictures taken.

President Andersen made an interesting comment about the Mongolian missionary work.

1% of the Mongolian church membership are missionaries.

If 1% of the whole church membership were missionaries, we would have about 200,000 missionaries, 4 times what we have now!

Isn't that amazing!

They are becoming a "beacon of the Church..." just as Elder Neal A. Maxwell promised them in the prayer to open Mongolia to missionary work.

Traditional Mongolian Hats

How do we look?

At the Talent Show, these Sisters did a traditional Mongolian Folk Dance.
The tribe is from the north, they are called Reindeer People.
We saw some pictures, of the reindeer, they look just like Santa Clause's,
I think this is where Santa Clause keeps his reindeer during the off season!

We sure do love all of you and miss you!
Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!

Choibalsan, Mongolia - winter

Sunday Dec 20th. We had the Stake President, Ogderal (center on left, with vest), he is the Stake Pres in Ulaanbaatar, Choibalsan is under the Mission direction, but he is also over all the Seminaries and Instutitutes in Mongolia, so he was visiting under that capacity, he is truly an amazing man, a wonderful speaker, our Branch President Erkhembaatar, 3rd one from the bottom on left, leaning way in), the 8 young missionaries, a family whose son just returned from a mission in Mongolia. 15 of us in all, over for dinner. I cooked veg soup, they do have beef here, I'll spare you the details of how they get their meat here, Jody would probably get sick! Cooked a lot of rice and they mixed it all. I think it tasted good and they cleaned up the whole pan! It was fun to have them into our little home, notice the coffee table was the table and they all just sit around it, either on chairs, stools or on the floor, they don't care. They are an amazing people and don't expect a whole lot! It is fun getting to know them, they have been so kind to us! I do have a translator who helps me at Church, she is young and is just learning, but she sits next to me during sacrament meeting. The missionaries help Dad. I think we will need to hire a translator do some of our church assignments.

It is a flat and cold place, and when the wind blow, it is extremely cold! They tell us the Gobe Desert is the coldest place on earth, and we are just north of it! The days are short, sunrise about 8:30 and sets about 4:00, it is almost dark by 4:45. We have been trying to find a thermometer, unsuccessful as yet, so we are going on what the missionaries are telling us, about the cold, 17c (1 degree) to about -25c or -30c! But, it sure doesn't stop the people from being out in it, or the kids from playing on the playgrounds - they just bundle up! We are learning, "the Mongolian wrap", how to tie the scarfs to keep our noses and chins warm. The air is so dry, things don't go moldy, they just dry up, go crunchy and eventually blow away! That is what the snow does, absolutely no moisture in the air or in the snow, it packs down and gets hard and crunchy, but with all the sand it surprisingly is not slick, thank goodness. The Mongolian children are so cute! They are chubby and such cute faces! And with all their layers, look pretty stiff! We love you and think of you often.

Choibalsan, Mongolia

This family invited us to welcome home their missionary, he served in Mongolia. The mother is deaf, but speaks fluent sign language and teaches a class for the members and missionaries in sign language, they are such a pretty people. They serve hot milk and cookies, fruit and are so willing to share, when they have so little to share themselves.

We saw these camels on the way to Choibalsan, they are big things, Mongolian camels have 2 humps, I didn't realize this. Maybe we'll be able take a camel ride in the summer.

Oh, man I hope this works! It has taken so long for us to get connected to the Internet, I'm still not sure if it will work. It took 15 minutes to load these 3 pictures.

But we are doing good - still in culture shock...Choibalsan reminds me of what might be 1920's, everything outdated, but with modern cell phones and some computers. The people are wonderful and so kind. The members are strong, about 75% of them 18 and under. We bore our testimonies and introduced ourselves to them the first Sunday, they were nodding their heads like they understood, and come up to us and start speaking like we should know what they are saying!

We did hear about the visa situation and our Elders are not tracking either. They did question us for a couple of days and kept our passports for a time, but all of that has been resolved and as far as we know we are OK. We leave Wednesday for the city (Ulaanbaatar) for a Mission Conference and Christmas. We will be there for 5 days, we will fly from Choibalsan Airport, about an hour, better than 11 hours!

Thanks for your prayers and updates. I hope to be able to get back into this when I close down and fill you in on more. Love all of you!

BTW, the link to the blog Marla is talking about is in one of my posts from last week.  Here it is again, if any of you want to follow it: http://mikeandmelba.blogspot.com/

Visa news

Okay so I have been reading the blog of Elder and Sister Caldwell. They are in Mongolia right now. They are the ones that posted the picture of Mom and Dad. Their last post says that they had a meeting about the Visa's and it went sour real quick. They said that there was screaming and yelling going on. They have asked the non-native missionaries to not make contact on the streets. It does not sound to good right now. I would hate for mom and dad to come home without getting the chance to touch the lives of the people in Mongolia. Let's keep the situation in our prayers!!

We want ya to know we love ya mom and dad!!! Miss ya lots!!!

Marla

Joshua's Blessing

We just wanted to thank everyone who came to Joshua's baby blessing. It was so special to have the love and support of those who came. It was also very special to have Mom and Dad there before they left to Mongolia. We love you all.

The Queens

I think I was being tested right after Mom and Dad left. It was probably for my own good. I needed to see if I could make it on my own & to learn how to ask for help (the later being hard for me to do). To name a few: My car wouldn't start, the 4-wheeler wouldn't start & I had to drive Dad's truck in the very deep snow. We have gotten allot of snow down here in Payson. Garry came over, started my car and the 4-wheeler (did you know the 4-wheeler has a choke and a pull string, who knew? not me). Garry has the magic touch, the next day neither would start for me, again. I was told Dad had a charger for the 4-wheeler battery, but I could not find it. So Lee Wayne Elmer brought over his charger. And the best news of all... I bought a new car or I should say truck. This time I went for looks, j/k. We are so excited for Friday, Uncle Chris is bringing it up and driving mine back. Yippee!!

Don't worry Dad, the payments are the same.

First Photo of Ovoo and Emaa!

I emailed the parents of a missionary in Choibalsan (I found their blog through a Google search).  They sent this link back to me from a blog by another couple in Ulaanbataar, with a post about Ovoo and Emaa's arrival and subsequent departure to Choibalsan.  I think they look great!  The link also has an aerial view of Choibalsan.  It looks pretty darn flat!  I didn't realize that they were replacing another Elder and Sister Anderson!
http://mikeandmelba.blogspot.com/2009/12/elder-and-sister-anderson.html

Choibalsan Chapel

I found this photo of the chapel in Choibalsan on another missionary's website.  Pretty barren looking behind the beautiful building!

Choibalsan

Yay for a safe arrival in Mongolia!!!  We are all so happy to hear you made it safely.  How wonderful that your months (and months) of training will pay off in your new assignment.  I am sure the fact that you know so much Mongolian already is a huge reason for you being sent to Choibalsan.  We all are excited to hear the details of your trip and the things you are experiencing.  The first couple weeks in the mission field are overwhelming and wonderful at the same time.   If anyone is interested in learning more about Choibalsan, here is a link to some information: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mongolia/eastern-mongolia/choibalsan

You can see the city on the right side of the blog's map

Good luck, stay warm, and enjoy those dirt roads! (Oh, how it reminds me of Bolivia!)  We love you!

Anderson Boys (and Hailee) Campout Chapter I

Mongolia Mission Address

Today is the big day, and we sure have mixed emotions - it is hard to say goodbye and to know that this time is really is for real! But, we are so grateful to finally be on our way. I was thinking last night that we started this mission process on Jan. 18th! It has been almost a year! We have talked to many couples who have had 3 weeks from their call to being in the field! But, we bhave been so blessed and feel prepared and ready. (I hope!) Love you and pray for each of you every day! May you see the hand of the Lord in your lives, as we have done!
Of course the blog and email will be the best and fastest!
But here are the address and information they gave us:

"The US Postal Service flat rate box is the most economical method of shipping to Mongolia. A package usually takes 2-4 weeks to arrive-longer before Christmas. Insure your packages and get a tracking number. DHL is the fastest and most reliable, but also the most expensive with packages arriving in about a week."
Direct mailing address:
"Missionary's name"
Mongolia Ulaanbattar Mission
Ulaanbaatar 49, P.O. Box 242
Ulaanbaatar, 210649, Mongolia

Mission address:
"Missionary's name"
Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission
Bayanzurkh District - 1st Khoroo
LDS Church Building, 4th F;oor
Tokyo Street - 6
Ulaanbaatar, 210649, Mongolia

Pouch mailing:
*this is for letters and postcards only. Letters are to be single sheet, folded into 3 panels, and taped at the top only. Letters sent any other way will be returned to sender
"Missionary's name"
Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission
PO Box 30150
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84130-0150

To Contact Mission:
Mission email address is: 2013223@ldschurch.org
Pres. Dallen Andersen

Mongolia Here We Come - Ready Or Not!

Just a quick note to let you know that we received our flight plans today. We fly out on Thursday, Dec 3rd. We are really going! Love all of you and we'll try and keep up with you all. Love you and take care! Love Mom and Dad

Christmas Lights at MTC!

In October, when they were hanging up Christmas lights at the MTC, I told Pres. Cardon, one of the District Presidents, that as pretty as they were going to be we really didn't want to see them turned on...well we did, and sure enough, they are pretty! And it is fun to see them, I don't think Mongolia will have them this pretty! As, you know we received an email from Pres. Andersen that the government has given us permission to come into the country. There are the three couples and we are all excited! We talked to the travel office today, at the MTC, and we will be flying out the last of this week or the first of next!

It was good to see all of you at Thanksgiving and to say good bye one more time! We missed Kevin, Ashlee and Brynlee, we know that Kevin had to work.

A thought from your Dad - "A person soon learns how little he knows when a child begins to ask questions." (so true!)

In D&C 31 the Lord tells missionaries that their families will be in His hands, and He will take care of them. That brings great comfort to us, because we do love each of you and sometimes worry about you! Remember we love you all, and remember to love and take care of each other!